Thunder-Pistons Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTOPosted Nov 12 2012 12:29AM

The Oklahoma City Thunder's four-game winning streak already includes a win over the Detroit Pistons.

There's every indication that it's about to be extended with another meeting.

The Thunder look to beat the winless Pistons for an eighth straight time and send them to the worst start in franchise history Monday night.

Oklahoma City (5-2) has hardly been tested during its four-game run, winning by an average of 13.0 points while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor.

The streak includes Friday's 105-94 victory over the visiting Pistons (0-7), their seventh consecutive win in the series. Only two of those contests, however, were in Detroit with the latest on Oct. 29, 2010.

One of two remaining winless teams in the NBA, Detroit is staring at a team record for the worst start to a season. Detroit has opened with seven straight losses for the third time, doing so previously in 1962-63 and again in 1980-81. This season's skid reached seven when it followed its most recent loss to the Thunder with Saturday's 96-82 defeat at Houston.

The Pistons' futile efforts included missing their first 10 shots of the fourth quarter before Brandon Knight hit a jumper with 6 minutes to go.

"There was no offensive energy out there at all," coach Lawrence Frank said. "We didn't even give ourselves a chance during that run. I don't make excuses why because I know we're capable of doing more.

"Your resolve is tested everyday regardless of what your record is."

The frustration is reaching beyond Frank.

"The way we are playing right now is unacceptable," said veteran Tayshaun Prince, who had 13 points and six rebounds against the Rockets. "Guys should be upset right now."

That's certainly not the case with the Thunder, who continued their surge with Sunday's 106-91 victory over Cleveland behind 27 points and 10 assists from Russell Westbrook.

It was a welcome performance by Westbrook, who averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 assists in his previous four games. He was limited to a season-low 10 and six against Detroit.

Continuing his increased scoring may mean more production from beyond the arc, where Westbrook is a career 29.2-percent shooter. The All-Star guard made a season-high 4 of 6 3-pointers Sunday after going 6 for 24 in the first six games.

"He's worked on it. He's going to continue to work on it," coach Scott Brooks said.

Kevin Durant continued his consistent play with a season-high 26 points Sunday. He has scored between 22 and 26 points in six of his seven games, with the lone exception a 15-point outing against Toronto on Nov. 6. Durant had 25 points and 13 rebounds against the Pistons.

Serge Ibaka matched Durant with a career-high 25 points Friday and scored 14 with seven blocks to match the league season high against the Cavaliers.

Also contributing is Kevin Martin, who has scored 16 points in each of the last two games. Martin, in the role of top reserve previously held by James Harden, ranks third on the Thunder with 17.7 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting, including 17 of 32 from 3-point range.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Westbrook leads Thunder past Pistons 92-90

By PAUL HARRISPosted Nov 13 2012 12:11AM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Playing their fourth game in five nights, the Oklahoma City Thunder shook off a sluggish start in time to extend their winning streak.

Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 33 points and keyed a fourth-quarter comeback on his 24th birthday as Oklahoma City rallied to beat the winless Detroit Pistons 92-90 Monday night.

The defending Western Conference champions improved to 6-2 with their fifth straight victory.

"We had to find some energy," Thunder forward Nick Collison said. "We were down for three quarters and we found some energy."

The loss left the Pistons with an 0-8 record, the worst start in franchise history.

"We can't put our heads down. What is this, our seventh game? Eighth?" said Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey, who led the Pistons with 19 points. "There's a lot more games. We've just got to keep fighting."

Westbrook, who also had 10 rebounds and four assists, contributed six points - all on free throws - to a 13-0 Thunder run to open the fourth quarter that turned a 73-62 deficit into a 75-73 lead with 8:11 left.

"I looked up and we were down 11 going into the fourth quarter," Kevin Durant said. "And then I looked up and Russ was at the line and he didn't miss and we were down by two."

Durant, who had 26 points and nine rebounds, hit a tough runner with 47.8 seconds remaining that gave Oklahoma City an 88-85 advantage.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks went to a smaller and more athletic lineup in the fourth quarter, when Oklahoma City outscored the Pistons 30-17.

"I thought the guys did a great job of showing some activity, getting their hands on loose balls and rebounding the basketball," Brooks said. "Then we spread the court offensively and we were doing a good job of attacking and getting to the free throw line."

Oklahoma City shot only 37 percent from the field but was 37 of 42 at the free throw line, led by Durant (10 for 10) and Westbrook (11 for 15).

"We started switching and made it tough for them to execute," Collison said. "They really execute well, but they have struggled as well. But their offense was pretty good. We switched everything and they stopped getting advantages off the offense."

Greg Monroe added 17 points and six rebounds for Detroit. His lay-in ended the Pistons' fourth-quarter drought and tied it at 75 with 7:47 left.

"If we compete like that every night, we'll get our fair share of wins," coach Lawrence Frank said. "It can't just be selective and sometimes you compete and you lose. But it's obviously disappointing to lose that game."

Jason Maxiell had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for the Pistons. Tayshaun Prince had 12 rebounds, six rebounds and three assists. He also contained Durant for most of the night, limiting the three-time NBA scoring champion to 15 points through the first three quarters.

The Pistons took a 62-51 lead on two free throws by Stuckey with 6:11 left in the third before a timeout by the Thunder. Monroe's layup then made it 64-51, the Pistons' biggest advantage.

Detroit led 51-45 at halftime after leading by as much as 12 in the second quarter.

The Pistons' biggest advantage was 44-32 with 5:29 left in the first half after Maxiell's layup capped a 10-2 run.

Oklahoma City cut the deficit to 47-45 after a 13-3 spurt was finished off by Durant's dunk with 2:27 remaining in the first half. Serge Ibaka (seven points) and Westbrook (four) accounted for the rest of that run for the Thunder.

NOTES: Brooks was asked if the Lakers' surprise hiring of Mike D'Antoni as coach would affect how the Thunder viewed their Western Conference rivals. "That doesn't change how we look at them at all," Brooks said before the game. "We focus on our team and our development and how it plays out." ... Maxiell blocked two of Durant's shots. He stopped a dunk attempt late in the first half and swatted a layup out of bounds with a little more than 3 minutes left in the third quarter. ... G-F Corey Maggette (left calf strain) was inactive for Detroit.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Thunder 92, Pistons 90

THE FACTS: Russell Westbrook had 33 points and 10 rebounds on his 24th birthday, including 14 fourth-quarter points, as the Oklahoma City Thunder edged the winless Detroit Pistons 92-90 Monday. The Thunder, which also got 26 points from Kevin Durant, erased a 13-point, second-half deficit. Rodney Stuckey's 19 points led the Pistons, who are off to their worst start in franchise history at 0-8.

QUOTABLE: "This is on Coach (Scott) Brooks. He made perfect adjustments for us to win by switching every screen and putting the most athletic defenders out there. We switched everything and got out on the break, hit free throws and got easy shots. Coach won this one for us."

-- Durant on erasing an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

THE STAT: 37-for-42. The Thunder shot only 37 percent but made up for it by getting to the foul line 42 times and converting all but five of those free throws. They went a perfect 18-for-18 in the fourth quarter while outscoring the Pistons 30-17.

TURNING POINT: Down 73-62 after three, the Thunder roared back with a 17-2 outburst. Westbrook scored 10 of those points, including the last eight. The Pistons were held to two points for the first 6:53 of the quarter as Brooks went to a smaller lineup to cut off penetration by Detroit's guards.

QUOTABLE II: "There's a lot of games where we don't play well but there's very few where we don't play hard. Tonight, there were so many opportunities for us to just say 'It wasn't our night.' Four in five nights in three different cities, we didn't use those as excuses and we never will. Our guys did a good job of staying with it."

-- Brooks on his team's perseverance.

HOT: Forward Jason Maxiell was instrumental in Detroit's ability to build a double-digit advantage. He had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Two of those rejections came in the third quarter, when the Pistons extended a six-point halftime lead.

NOT: Oklahoma City's bench was unproductive. Kevin Martin, the sixth man, was 2-for-8 from the field. Nick Collison had two points and five fouls in 16 minutes. The three other reserves who played combined for four points and two turnovers.

ROOKIE WATCH: Pistons reserves Kyle Singler and Andre Dummond had strong second quarters but did very little after halftime. Singler finished with nine points but fouled out in 16 minutes. Drummond, Detroit's lottery pick, had four points, six rebounds and two steals in 13 minutes.

NOTABLE: Detroit had two previous 0-7 starts in franchise history in 1962-63 and 1980-81 ... Thunder coach Brooks isn't concerned about the impact of the Los Angeles Lakers' coaching change from Mike Brown to Mike D'Antoni. "That doesn't change how we look at things at all," he said. "We focus on our team, our growth, our development and how we play. It has no bearing on us moving forward." ... Pistons backup forward Corey Maggette remained inactive because of a left calf injury. He has not played this season ... Oklahoma City has defeated the Pistons eight consecutive times.